An important question every business owner needs to ask himself or herself is “How much should I charge for my products and services?” While it sounds like a simple question, underneath lies a pretty complex problem. On one hand, you want to set your prices to reflect the true value of your work. You never want to leave money on the table. But on the other hand, you also have competition that is working to win business from similar customers. These two factors are the push and the pull of setting and raising detailing prices for your services.

If you want to have a successful detailing business, you need to bring in enough revenue to turn a profit. But at the same time, you need to have a pulse on the market and know what the shop next door or across town is charging for their services. In this article, I want to talk about how to do both of these things without compromising the true value of your professional services.

According to Mobile Tech RX’s research on detailing prices, car detailing businesses around the country charge, on average, $160 dollars for their services. Around the country, though, prices drop under $20 in some areas and go above $300 in others. This is a huge pricing gap. Why are we seeing that? I think there are two reasons: high competition and a broken pricing model.

Detailing Competition is Tough

Detailing is a competitive industry, especially in certain states and cities in the US. According to our research, California alone accounts for more than 13% of detailing businesses around the country with about 4,000. Within California, the city with the most detailing businesses is Los Angeles, with 2,035. Los Angeles makes up more than 50% of all detailing in California and almost 7% around the country. If you’re a detailer in California, especially in LA, I don’t need to tell you that it’s a tough market to compete in.

One big reason for high competition in detailing is that the barrier to entry is low. Technically, all you need to enter the market and start your own detailing business is a water supply and some cleaning materials. Now, I’m not saying that this is all you need to be a great detailer, but this is the root of the problem. You can have one detailer who’s just starting out, has very few tools and very little experience who goes up against someone who’s been in the industry for decades. How does this situation with detailers of different experience levels and quality sort itself out when it comes to acquiring customers and setting prices?

The Great Compromise – Unstandardized Detailing Prices

For a long time now, detailing businesses have used a menu-based pricing model. Customers can choose their service from menu boards that are posted at the shop or on a website, from a “Basic” package (that includes external washing, waxing, interior vacuuming, polishing, window washing, mirror and trim cleaning and tire cleaning) to a “Premium” package that might add paint correction or ceramic coating. This set menu pricing should be a great equalizer at creating standard pricing, right?

Not exactly. Thanks to Yelp, company websites, and online scheduling, consumers can research shops, pick their package and pricing, and schedule appointments online. While this is great for the consumer’s shopping experience, it’s not great for the detailer. Especially the really good, experienced detailers. The entire process can happen without the detailer seeing the car’s condition or the customer considering the difference in quality between one detailer and the next. When the industry’s pricing structure relies almost entirely on who can win more business with the lowest price on a website, the value of all detail work decreases.

In any other industry, the more experience you have or the higher quality you offer, the more you get to charge. With the current state of menu-based pricing, even the best detailers aren’t charging the true value of the work based on the condition of the vehicle and their experience level. Ultimately, this means that detailers have lost control of the value of their work. In the current state, consumers have all of the power to own the price of a detail, which forces businesses to drop their prices to compete.

I’ve talked to a lot of detailers around the country, and it’s clear that there is price confusion around the industry. Everyone knows that they should charge differently for different variables of a car’s condition, but no one really knows how to charge for those variables consistently. Because of this, detailers are probably leaving 10% – 30% of potential revenue on the table.

A New Way: Customer-Friendly Variable-Based Pricing

Detailers have been saying for years that consumers don’t understand their work so they can’t charge the true value of a great detail. Are the prices that you charge as a detailer really reflective of the time and resources you give to each car? If two customers select the same pricing package and the first car takes you 3 hours while the second car takes you 4 hours, you’re probably charging the same price. If you’ve ever done this, you’re definitely leaving money on the table.

It’s time to supplement your menu with technology that educates your customers and helps you get to a standardized price based on the car’s condition. The future of detailing isn’t just about charging more money. It’s about finding a way to educate customers and earn their trust so that the price agreed upon is truly based on the value of the work. The ultimate goal is to build estimates with your customers instead of just for your customers. You can, and should, set a price on unique factors and variables of each car that comes into your shop, and there should be a solution to help customers understand those variables and prices. Here are some of the types of variables I’m talking about:

Pet Hair

Sap/Tar/Overspray on the exterior

Paint Refinement

Deep Scratches

Stains

Brightwork

Take out Seats/Disassemble

Special Tool/Product Usage

The Future of Detailing

I came out of the PDR industry, and worked as the Vice President of Five Star PDR in Austin, TX, for 10 years before co-founding Mobile Tech RX. It’s been interesting to watch the PDR industry change and grow. It’s still a competitive market, but business owners are actively working to raise their prices fairly, and they are working to bring the industry up instead of racing each other down to the lowest price. This is to the benefit of everyone.

It would be wise for detailers to follow in the footsteps of PDR. You have a chance to take a stand and use tools that push the industry towards price standardization, more trust between customers and business owners, and more revenue that reflects the true craft of a quality detail. Great detailers are craftsmen. I believe they should earn like one.

The future of detailing should make a clear distinction between hobbyists and craftsmen. Variable-based pricing helps detailers distinguish themselves in the marketplace, educate customers on the value of their work, and stop compromising on price. With new technology, detailers can charge the perfect price for every job that arrives at a non-negotiable estimate. Not only will the great detailers earn like craftsmen, but customers will understand what goes into the art of a great detail, and the entire industry will benefit.